The Challenge:
The Retail Sales division of a Fortune 50 Corporation needed to shave 30% off their development costs. They were spending well over the competitive benchmark for their technology - technology that was essential, but did not add to a customer's perception of 'added value'. The market would not allow a price increase. If they were to retain market share, their only option was to drive development costs down. Costs had to go down quickly, and substantially - 30 percent.

The Solution:
The General Manager of the retail division asked us to design a WorkOut session to help him cut costs by 30%. We studied the contributing costs and put together three teams to tackle key components of development. This approach addressed the key areas that generated expenses and influenced market requirements:

1. Design

2. Development

3. Marketing

The Results:

• Development savings that started at 21%

• Savings of 50% was achieved for subsequent years

• Cumulative reduction in development costs was over $10 million (5 years)

• The GM - a tough business executive - was as pleased with the teamwork as he was with the ongoing cost savings. He called the WorkOut as "a thing of beauty - something unique in today's business environment."